Grand Rapids Native to Compete in Legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans

Every year in June, the small town of Le Mans, France hosts one of the most legendary race events in the world: the 24 Hours of Le Mans. A field of 60 race cars compete for 24 hours straight at Circuit de la Sarthe, pushing man and machine to the extreme limits of endurance. Now in its 84th running, the 24 Hours of Le Mans is currently the world's oldest active sports car endurance event, attracting the most talented race car drivers and auto manufacturers in the world.

When Grand Rapids-born Marc Miller journeyed to France to compete in the event for the first time in 2015, he had been the first Michigan resident in 19 years to compete at the event. For his second year of competition, the Holland resident will now be joined by another Grand Rapids native, John Pew. The duo are among 19 Americans in the 180 driver field.

Miller began his racing career at the age of 11, starting in go karts, then successfully moving up the ladder to formula cars and stock cars before landing in sports cars. For the last five years, he has been racing in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge with CJ Wilson Racing, owned by CJ Wilson, pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels.

Most recently, he celebrated a second place finish in front of his home crowd on the streets of Belle Isle and the Detroit Grand Prix in his series debut in the Trans Am Series.

"A week before the event, I was not scheduled to race anything at the Detroit Grand Prix until I got a call from Stevens-Miller Racing to drive one of their Dodge Challengers," said Miller. "I have raced all over the world, but it was my first time racing in a professional event in Michigan, so standing on the podium in my home-state race in my series debut having never sat in the car before the day before the race was a pretty special moment."

That moment didn't last long, as the following day he was in Le Mans for the official test day of the approaching endurance event. A part of an all-American effort, Miller will join Leh Keen and Cooper MacNeil in the No. 89 WeatherTech Racing Porsche 911 RSR. Dedicated to a full season in North American sports car racing, and showing strong results halfway through the season, the WeatherTech Racing team will be sure to be a front runner at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

"Last year at Le Mans was a very new experience for me having never been to the event before," said Miller. "It is one of world's biggest events with roughly 260,000 people in attendance. Every race driver dreams of competing at Le Mans, and having the opportunity to go back again is truly amazing. I look forward to not just representing the team well, but also both America and my home state of Michigan."

Official on track sessions for the 24 Hours of Le Mans begin Wednesday June 15, with the race taking place Saturday, June 18 to Sunday, June 19. For more information, visit www.lemans.org.

Contact:

kelly@kbrucommunications.com

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